I'll Remember Forever
by Yoru No Grim
Summary: Written in response to Empress Dotdotodot's Fanfic Challenge. It's amazing how love can spring into being, especially if the two love each other but are too afraid to tell...


8BTFreek: Well, the contest caught my eye, so I decided I'd try it out. I don't own Golden Sun, but I sure as hell wish I did. Anyway, here's the newest story by the extremely psycho and somewhat possessed 8BTFreek.  
  
{I'll Remember Forever}  
  
Garet stared at her. She'd captured him, he knew that. Her wild grace, her infinite beauty, her bright smile... Isaac had told him to shut up at one point. He didn't care, though. He just went off and talked about her to his sister. But there was one thing he'd never done.  
  
He'd never actually talked to her. Seriously, that is. He could sometimes do small talk, if Isaac was there, but a serious conversation? The few times he'd attempted that, Felix had chased him away. Come to think of it, he'd done that to Felix a few times while he was talking to Kay. Perhaps this was revenge.  
  
Of course, he might have been able to talk to her. If she hadn't had that beautiful hair that kept distracting him, that is. Or the eyes he could lose himself in - if she lost those, he'd be able to talk to her. And her spirit. Mustn't forget the spirit. In short, if she wasn't who she was, he'd have no trouble talking to her. Oh yeah, he'd be able to talk his mouth off then. He slumped down onto the ground.  
  
As he leaned back against the tree, she came walking by. The drink he was holding spilled onto the ground as he shot up. Without any reason, he walked up to her. "Hey, Jenna. Uh, how's it going?"  
  
She looked at him. His knees buckled, his heart raced. "It's going," she said. He attempted to smile. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Well, uh, that's good." Inside, he was beating himself up. {Stupid, stupid, stupid!} She smiled at him then. A wave of relief flowed through his body.  
  
"Yeah. How about you?" she asked. Her voice had become a little unsteady.  
  
"I'm okay," he said. "Just fine." She smiled at him again. He became more nervous. Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead. "Nice... nice day, huh?"  
  
"Yeah. It's real great." She seemed calm, cool. Used to this sort of thing. He laughed, a nervous little laugh that almost sounded like a donkey's bray.  
  
"Uh-huh." His heart was straining to burst through his chest. "Well, uh... I... I guess I'll see you later," he said. He began to walk off when he felt a hand on his arm.  
  
"No, no, just - just stay, okay?" He nodded dumbly. It seemed she enjoyed his presence, despite the fact that he had just made a total fool of himself, and things probably wouldn't improve.  
  
"So, uh, I dunno... What do you want to talk about?" He knew that the annual Mount Aleph Festival was coming up, and that he was finally fourteen - which meant he was old enough to go to the after-celebration dance. Isaac had been joking with him about who they'd bring - Isaac mentioned the blacksmith's daughter for himself, and - in an almost serious tone - Jenna for him. Isaac had laughed afterwards, of course. For a Venus Adept, Isaac was sometimes a joker.  
  
Jenna looked at the ground. "Well, there's the big dance for the Festival coming up. I'm kind of interested in going, but... I have nobody to go with, except my brother or that joker Isaac." She seemed to really want to go, too.  
  
"Well, uh... I could take you." She turned to him, the beautiful eyes glowing.  
  
"You'd do that for me?" He smiled and nodded. She hugged him. "Great! I'll be at your place around five, okay?" He nodded again. She laughed. "Thanks! It'll be great, don't worry!" He nodded again. She released him and ran off.  
  
As soon as she was gone, he ran off too. Off to Isaac's.  
  
{}{}{}  
  
Isaac opened the door. If it was Kay again, he'd be forced to beat her off with a sharp stick. Fortunately, it was his good friend Garet. "Come on in," he said. Garet was smiling, for some reason.  
  
"I managed to-" Isaac cut him off.  
  
"Let me guess, you managed to gather the courage to talk to Jenna. How did I guess?" Garet shook his head. "What then? Surely you didn't manage to get her to go to the dance with you." He shook his head again. "I didn't think so-" Garet cut him off.  
  
"Actually, I asked her because she said she wanted to go, and she said it'd either be Felix or you, so I said I could take her, and she was really happy and hugged me right in the middle of the plaza, and so I wanted to tell someone, so I ran off to you." Garet stopped as soon as Isaac held up a hand.  
  
Isaac nodded. "So, you took my advice and asked her out finally, did you? It took you long enough. Do you need any help?" Isaac walked into the kitchen and made Garet a cup of tea. Garet knocked the drink from his friend's hand. "Okay, tea's not what you want. How about some orange juice?" He shook his head. "What then?" Garet made a small motion with his hands. "Nothing? Nonsense. You'll need something." He made the motion again. Isaac rolled his eyes. "On your own head be it."  
  
"No, I just want to talk about it. So anyway, she told me that she wanted to go to the dance, and like I said, she said it was either you or Felix, and I mentioned myself." Isaac nodded. "Well, she said 'would you really' and I nodded, and then she said 'thanks,' and she mentioned that she'd be at my place at five on Monday, and so I nodded again, and she ran off. What should I get her?"  
  
Isaac shrugged. "Don't ask me. I've never dated before. Ask Felix, he'd be able to tell you." Just then, there was a knock at Isaac's door. His mother answered it.  
  
"Well, hello, Kay!" she said. Isaac stared pointedly at Garet, his stare suggesting that things could get ugly.  
  
"Hello, ma'am. Is Isaac home?" Isaac's mother must have nodded, because the next thing they heard was Kay's voice yelling, "Isaac!" She ran into the room and tackled him. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him. He wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Hello, Kay," he said. Kay beamed at him.  
  
"Isaac, guess what I heard." Isaac made a questioning look. "I heard Garet and Jenna are going to the dance together. Isn't that great? Now the four of us can go together." Isaac smiled at her.  
  
"Yeah. Hey, your brother's here. Didn't you notice him?" She turned and looked at him, flashed a "hello" smile, then turned back to Isaac. "So, is that why you came?" She nodded, then whispered, "Also, could you get me a red dress instead of a green one? I think I look much better in red, don't you?"  
  
He nodded, then said, "But blue looks best. I'm getting you a blue one, whether you like it or not." She sighed and rolled her eyes, gave him a little squeeze, got up, and grabbed Garet. "Well, I'll see you two later."  
  
"See you," Garet said before his sister dragged him out the door. "Thanks for having us over, Missus Dora ma'am." Isaac's mom laughed before closing the door.  
  
{}{}{}  
  
Garet looked at the flowers. Sneaking out of the house, he carefully cut four roses from his sister's bush. He snuck them up to his room. Up there, he wet the ends. He was going to surprise her.  
  
5:00 came, and his sister and two friends were outside his house. He grabbed the roses from his room and rushed downstairs. Kay rushed past him, carrying a blue dress made from some soft-looking material. He paused on the stairs, looked questioningly at her, then shrugged and continued down. At the door, he saw her. A lump rose in his throat. He walked over to Jenna. "Uh, these are for you," he said. He held out the flowers. Jenna smiled at him.  
  
"They're lovely." She took them and inhaled the fragrance. "Where'd you get them? How did you know?" He blushed, turned his head, and smiled sheepishly. Just then Kay came down wearing the blue dress.  
  
"Well, Isaac, how do I - What the hell? Those are MY roses! GARET!" Garet visibly swallowed. "Garet, did you steal my roses?" He didn't move. Jenna stepped up to his sister.  
  
"He gave these to me. I think he knew you wouldn't mind." Her glare implied that she did mind him taking the roses. "Well, he was willing to risk your wrath to get a gift for me. I think that's rather brave of him." Kay continued to glare. Jenna sniffed. "Fine, if you're going to be like that about it, we'll go alone." She grabbed his arm. "Come on, Garet."  
  
{}{}{}  
  
The night had gone by too quickly, in her opinion. She'd barely taught him how to dance when they said they were finishing for the night. But she'd had fun, regardless. Talking with him had been hard at times - she barely knew what to say, and he'd come out with something funny, causing her to laugh. He really was witty, charming, graceful... Jenna smiled to herself. They were now holding hands, lying on their backs and gazing at the stars. "Garet?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah? What is it, Jenna?" His head turned to look at her.  
  
"D'you want to do this again some other time? Like tomorrow, maybe?" He smiled. "Dancing, I mean. And looking at the stars." His smile widened.  
  
"It'd be lovely." She got up, and he followed. "What, leaving so soon?" She smiled and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Walk me home?" He nodded. As they approached the house, they noticed lights still on. They stood on the doorstep and looked at each other. "Well, it was a good night."  
  
"Yeah," he said. Then, he did something that shocked her. In a swift movement, he grabbed her in a bear hug. "It was a great night, with a great person." Jenna smiled, but she was running out of air. She made a tiny squeak, and he loosened his embrace. "Sorry," he murmured. Then, out of nowhere, he kissed her cheek. That had been unexpected. Perhaps he had liked it more than she thought. Letting go, he whispered, "Good night," in an almost sorry tone before walking off. She ran up to him and grabbed him, spun him around.  
  
"Next time," she said, "do it like this." She grabbed hold of him, wrapped her arms around him, raised her face to his -   
  
A cough came from the doorway. "Step away from her, Garet. She's back at home now. Jenna, it's time for you to come in." Reluctantly, she let go. "Come on, hurry up! Honestly, am I always the last one to learn about this? First Kay turns me down for a date, then my sister goes running off to the Festival Dance..." She flushed. "Well, come inside. Mom and Dad want you to tell them why you're so late. They got home before you did, after all." Felix walked over to her, ripped her from the spot, and pulled her inside.  
  
{}{}{}  
  
Garet would have remembered the night with fondness, if it hadn't been for that one little thing. Having a midnight storm that swept away four people whom you'd known for practically your whole life tended to put a damper on things. Being knocked out while trying to get help didn't add any joy to it either. When he woke up, he was at home, lying in his bed. It was late afternoon. He looked around. He was still fully dressed, except for his coat and boots. He tossed the covers off his bed and, ignoring the coat and boots, went off looking for Jenna. When he found her, she was crying in a room in her aunt's house. "What's wrong, Jen?" he asked.  
  
She stopped sobbing and looked at him. "Nothing," she lied. Tears were running down her face. She was trying hard not to show weakness.  
  
"Don't lie, Jenna. I can't know how you feel, but I'd do anything to keep you from crying." He took her hands in his. "Anything."  
  
She looked at him. He could see tears in her eyes. "Anything?" He nodded. She stood, bringing him up with her. "Kiss me right," she whispered. "Kiss me like you should have, if Felix hadn't interrupted." She was in his arms this time, but she still wrapped her arms around him. Their faces moved together. He kissed her again, but this time, it was on the lips.  
  
Bliss, the likes of which he'd never known, flooded him. The moment lasted an eternity. He could feel her in way's he'd never imagined, could feel her soul tugging at him, urging him to run with her. To go off to a place where nothing bad ever happened.  
  
As they pulled away, she smiled. "Garet," she muttered, "thank you." She smiled. "I'll remember this moment forever." He smiled, too.  
  
"So will I, Jen. So will I."  
  
{eos}  
  
8BTFreek: Well, that was easier than I thought. Let's see... Well, as you can probably guess, this story is mainly Flameshipping. As for normal... Those of you who know me know I'm one of the most rabid Steamshippers (Garet/Mia) on FFNet. Well, it's also another first for me: A OneShot that doesn't have a song to go with it. I couldn't figure out a song for it. Well, review if you would, and tell me what you think. 


End file.
